Batteries Plus, in Stockbridge, is offering its patrons a free, 9-volt battery for their smoke alarms, through Saturday, Oct. 10, the end of National Fire Prevention Week.

Customers will be able to obtain the free battery at all metro-Atlanta Batteries Plus locations. If more smoke-alarm batteries are needed, they may be purchased for a dollar each, according to Allison Wilhelm, spokesperson for Batteries Plus.

The Batteries Plus store at 1540 Hudson Bridge Road has been giving away batteries since Oct. 4, to show support for National Fire Prevention Week, said Wilhelm. The giveaway is aimed at making consumers aware of the importance of having a functioning smoke alarm in their homes.

"Since the 1970s, when smoke alarms first became widely available to households in the United States, the home-fire death rate has been cut in half," said June Riner, owner of Batteries Plus in Stockbridge. "We want to help people understand, that the presence of a smoke alarm alone can't save lives, [but] it has to have batteries that work."

Riner said experts recommend changing smoke-alarm batteries on Nov. 1, the end of daylight saving time each year, and on the first day of daylight saving time, in the spring.

Individuals should check their smoke alarms once a month, to make sure they are operating properly. Officials say that approximately 70 percent of deaths, in relation to fires, occur in homes without working smoke alarms.

"Checking your smoke detector is imperative, and can save your life and the lives of your loved ones, but knowing how to get out of your home is just as important," said Riner. "We want to make sure people are safe, and we have the tools to help avoid senseless deaths."